(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the storage of standard magnetic tape cassettes and particularly to the packaging of such cassettes for display and retail sale. More specifically, this invention is directed to a container in which standard magnetic tape cassettes may be stored and displayed and especially to a cassette storage container comprising a housing and a spring biased cassette receiving drawer. Accordingly, the general objects of the present invention are to provide novel and improved methods and apparatus of such character.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Storage containers for magnetic tape cassette are well known in the art. One form of such container comprises a housing having a drawer. The housing and drawer cooperate to define a substantially rectangular space which accommodates the cassette. In some prior art cassette storage containers the drawer is biased in the opening direction by means of an ejection spring ad the container is provided with a releaseable locking mechanism which retains the drawer in the inserted position. A cassette storage container of this type is disclosed in published West Germany Patent Application Ser. No. P 22 48 408. Storage containers of the type shown in the above-referenced publication provide practical and neat storage for magnetic tape cassettes while, at the same time, being suitable for retail display and sale of blank cassettes.
The previously available tape cassettes storage containers, including those described in the above-mentioned publication, have been found to be deficient for storing pre-recorded cassettes. This is partly because the prior containers which employ a spring-biased drawer require more shelf space than do the familiar transparent storage boxes which include a hinged closure member. The larger size of drawer-type cassette storage containers is necessitated by the fact the ejection spring, which enables one-handed use of the container, requires a relatively large amount of space. Further, the container requires reinforcing means to insure that the spring tension does not distort or break the container.
A further problem, which has weighed against the use of drawer-type cassette storage containers for the retailing of pre-recorded cassettes, resides in the difficulty of affixing an identifying label to the container. While the label could be adhesively secured to the exterior of the container, this presents the danger of the label being accidently separated from the container. As an alternative, the drawer-type container could be comprised of a transparent plastic material and a label inserted therein. The construction of previous drawer-type containers, however, was such that the ejection spring was apt to damage the label or the label might become jammed in the spring.
Thus, a problem of long standing in the art has been the provision of a drawer-type storage container for a standard magnetic tape cassette which has substantially the same dimensions as the familiar plastic box with hinged lid and which could easily be opened with one hand thereby permitting, for example, removal of the tape from the safety of the container by the operator of a motor vehicle.